So! I really, really want to leave NYC in the next year or so. I have lived in Brooklyn for 8 years, and I'm really itching to settle into a more permanent (bigger!) place and start a family. Portland, ME is at the top of my list for places that I want to move, and I wanted to get some feedback from folks that live there on some things. My partner and I are both lucky in that we can work from home, so there really is no limit to where we can move, but our families are in Western NY and Northern PA, and Nik will have to come back to NYC every few months for his job, so East Coast is #1.

1) Talk to me about public transportation. I would most likely get a car if I moved there, but my partner doesn't have a license (due to medical reasons, not by choice), so this is important. This is Nik's #1 concern about leaving NYC, is that he does not want to depend on me for transportation. I would love to live right in Portland proper, preferably, to be close to everything and ease his mind on this subject. Is it feasible to walk or take the bus everywhere, if you lived right in Portland, or not too far north/west of Deering Oaks park? Neither of us are bikers, but would love to be! I don't know if that would go so well in the winter though...

2) Other than the obvious vegan options (Green Elephant, Silly's, etc.) do you find more restaurants are offering vegan dishes? I haven't heard of anything new opening up there, (but I haven't been in a few years), but the boy and I love to go out to dinner and it's a bonus if there is something for the both of us (he's omni, but is super-vegan-friendly and basically eats anything except for Indian food.) Do you usually find vegan options at coffee shops? I work from home and like a change of scenery sometimes (and I am spoiled by vegan options in Brooklyn!) Also, we will both miss good pizza and bagels, coming from NYC, will we be sad there?

3) Craft fairs! I like to sell my work sometimes at shows, mostly bigger ones like Renegade and BUST, but I wondered how the scene was there. I know about Picnic and the newish flea that opened, but haven't been to them. Any feedback?

4) I feel like I would be okay with the winter weather (and WELCOME the summer weather and outside activities). I grew up outside of Rochester, NY, with the lake-effect snow and whatnot, so I'm not a stranger to 8 feet of snow suddenly being dumped down from the sky, but I've never visited Portland in the wintertime so I might be wrong! Is it as bad as the internet says?

5) Any Moms or Dads want to weigh in on raising children in Portland? Activities, other families, schools, kid-friendly establishments? Do you feel like it's lacking in anything?

6) I love Brooklyn dearly, but think that we need a smaller, more affordable city, where we still would have the things we love (farmer's markets, a great CSA, good food, parks, a love for handmade/local, art scene, lots of things to do), but be able to buy a house, start a family, have nice schools, a yard and a garden, know our neighbors, etc. And the ocean! Am I idealizing your pretty city?

1)yes absolutely, the entire portland proper area is like, 3 miles wide. biking adds speed to summer commuting, but seriously you can get everywhere by walking (and there are a few bus lines that go to places outside the central portland area. the public transportation is NOTHING like nyc, but the city is super small.

2.) there are vegan options in a bunch of coffee shops and cafes for sure, everywhere has nondairy milk and a bunch of places have a few cookies and things. most restaurants have a vegan option but yeah there are not a lot of fully vegan places. quality over quantity maybe? I also like local sprouts and the pepper club for the "really good vegan option" style of dining

3.) first friday is sort of like a really big craft fair! they've also started having a few non-food folks set up at the saturday farmer's market, maybe that would be a place to check?

4.) I REALLY REALLY HATE SNOW, so my opinion is biased, but I can say that it's not usually as snowy as rochester, but if you have a car and have to deal with street parking it is like having a second job in the winter. the car part is the worst, but if you have a driveway or can afford a spot in a garage for the winter it is not THAT bad.

there are a lot of good things about this tiny city, but it just like any other city it has it's less awesome points!

bring all the vegans here. all of them.

_________________Space has stared into the tiny syrup holes of our shame and it does not judge us. - Amandabear

portland seems to be to be more vegan friendly than where I was/am going in the kittery/portsmouth area, and even there there were tons of choices. I think maine, as a whole, is a great place to raise kids. I can't wait to go back.

_________________"T-shirts are not allowed in heaven, Karyn. They don't do casual Fridays." - Amandabear